[trikkonceptz]

First, I work at a Ford store so I get to test drive just about anything ...

SO I figured I would take the Ford Fiesta out for a test spin to see where they stood MPG wise.

My subjects were to hatchback Fiesta's one stick one automatic. My testing conditions;

-From cold start, drive the inner city 5 mile test drive route to determine each vehicles mpg on the route.

Grant it, not ideal conditions, but equally bad for both ..lol

Here is what I got;

Manual - 19.9 mpg avg
Automatic - 29.9 mpg avg

I drove both the exact same way, being mindful of my coasts, distances etc ... What I find is that the manual is extemely lacking in torque forcing you to go deeper into the throttle to get any responce from what seems like an underpowered engine.

On the other hand, the automatic with its new transmission was the exact opposite. It felt like the vehicle had the Mustang 5.0 under the hood, often forcing me to reduce throttle to not accelerate much harder than intended. The shifting was super smooth and while you could still tell you were driving a small 4cyl, it was much more balanced than the manual experience.

If I had to choose based on those test drives, I would take the automatic hands down.

Hopefully ford advances this transmission a little more in future models as it is lacking in the out of throttle cruise realm. Not until 20mph do you feel the clutches completely disengage and allow for free wheeling. The exception of course being cruising in neutral ...

If you have any other questions, ask me I should be able to answer them or get you answers ...